Menu

After e-literature, there’s no going back

What is with the five-year-old photo illustrating this story that was published yesterday? That Kindle is ancient.

Born digital describes works that are created with a computer and are meant to be read on the computer. They’re not works that you print out. The computational aspect of the work is part of its aesthetic and its reception. So born digital, as you can see, can encompass a wide variety of genres and works. And then, on the question of why now, why people are writing digital literature now… Actually, the field has origins beyond the current moment. Unsurprisingly, when humans create a new technology, any kind of reading or writing technology, they find ways to use it for artistic purposes. Electronic literature is generally acknowledged as having a 20-year or so history, going back to Michael Joyce’s afternoon: a story [1987], but its origins can be pushed further back to ASCII art, early chatbots like ELIZA, and other computer-mediated forms of art. —Salon.com.